


Over Rated

by King_0f_the_Trill



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-25
Updated: 2015-08-27
Packaged: 2018-03-23 04:49:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3755092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/King_0f_the_Trill/pseuds/King_0f_the_Trill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>-<br/>ANYTHING BETWEEN HERE IS A FLASH BACK<br/>-</p><p>And out here is Tobin telling the story</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> -  
> ANYTHING BETWEEN HERE IS A FLASH BACK  
> -
> 
> And out here is Tobin telling the story

Whoever said high school was fun must have been popular. I mean they had to be. When have you ever seen a popular kid  _not_   having fun at school. They basically own the place. Thinking they're better than everyone else. Who says the guy with the football scholarship is better than the guy with the academic scholarship? Who says the girl that cheers is any better than the girl who likes to do math for fun? Who decided that  _they_ were better than  _us_?  That  _she_ was better then me. 'She' being Alex Morgan. Alex is your typical popular girl. Pretty and mean. Which meant she had a posse of girls who were equally pretty and just as mean. 

I guess I should start with Alex. Alex is the captain of the soccer team. She was the star player of her youth club, which I think went to her head. She practiced 3 hours a day all week, and somehow managed to keep a perfect reputation. When she was 10 she played two levels up. With the "big kids". Even then she was still the best talent that team ever saw. I met Alex freshman year, first week of school. We had the same homeroom.

-

Man. This is high school, huh? Seems just like middle school. I walked through the front doors and was met by immediate chaos. Kids running to homeroom so they aren't counted as late on the first day. Kids hanging out by the lockers comparing schedules. My schedule said I was in 212 for homeroom. Must be upstairs. When I got to the second floor, 212 was on my left. Mr. Williams. There was sign on the door that said 'Sit wherever you like' with a smiley face. Surprisingly all the back row seats weren't taken yet. I took the last seat at the end of the row by the door. After I was settled in, I started to watch the door. There was nobody I knew in my homeroom, but then again I didn't really know anyone. 3 minutes later, there she was. Blue eyes. Pretty blue eyes and a perfect smile. Obviously there was more to her than that, but when anyone asks you about her...you're gonna remember blue eyes. She had this other girl with her. Syd, who at the time I had the pleasure of not knowing. Alex sat down one seat over and one seat up from me. The bell rang and Mr. Williams came in and took roll. Alex had something about her that made people listen when she talked. And when she talked you better believe people listened. Her laugh filled the whole room. It was infectious. When you hear it you just have to smile. So I did. I wasn't aware that I'd been staring at Alex , but apparently her friend was. She made eye contact with me and my smile died just that quick. She whispered something to Alex that made her turn around.

"Can we help you?" Alex asked, loud enough to get the attention of the kids around us.

"M..me?'

"Um yeah. Y..you." She replied, mocking me. A few kids laughed. "Get out my conversation."

"No I wasn't. I mean I did't-"

"And don't think I haven't noticed you staring at my girl Alex since we got here." Syd cut in.

"Wait...are you like...gay?" Alex narrowed her eyes at me.

"What? No it wasn't like that."  

"Mr. Williams can I change my seat? I can't sit by a gay. It's like totally against my religion." Syd announced loudly. At this point the whole class was watching and giggling under their breath. I'm pretty sure my ears were red.

"Alright girls. That's enough." Mr. Williams said, tunning into the situation

"Stay away from me. Freak." 

"Alex I said that's enough."

Alex and Syd turned back around and continued their previous conversation. I could feel everyone watching me. Judging me. My face was hot and I felt like I might cry. I took my glasses off and rubbed my eyes. My throat was tight and my head hurt. I laid my head down on my desk. Yep. Just like middle school.

-

 

Harsh first day right? Tell me about it. Of course everyone knows about the dangers of high school bullies. But actually being bullied in high school just makes it that much more real. It sucks. Anyways, next up is Sydney Leroux. She plays soccer with Alex. Apparently she was in some sort of specially gifted children's program. The age range was 10-18. Syd got in when she was 8. That was years ago when she lived up North. She moved here from Canada when she was 12. Her mom signed her up for the rec. soccer team and that's where she met Alex. They've been friends ever since. Let me tell you about my run in with 'Syd the kid'.

 

-

Among the many worries of high school, at the top of the list is...a seat in the cafeteria. Now I could sit with the other kids like me. The kids with no friends. Or I could sit by myself. Either way I'm gonna look like a total loser. Which is fine because that's who I am. I go with option 1. I mean why not sit with the people who get me? And they do. They totally get me. I'm just like them in all the ways that count. As I sit down with my lunch, I can't help but think that there's a place for everybody. For the cool kids like Alex, and the underdogs like me. There's always gonna be 'somewhere' for everyone. There's always gonna be someone who just _gets_ you. They'll look at you and know. I call this thought process a 'Brain Moment'. My brain goes somewhere my body can't follow. When it comes back I've got this whole new perspective on something. Like, sure I'll never be like Alex,  but as long as me and people like me have a 'somewhere' then it'll be ok. I'll be ok. Everything was good. The kids I sat with took me in with open arms. I knew they would. The underdog doesn't bark at the wounded. I felt like I'd found my somewhere. I felt happy. Then I felt cold. And wet. The next thing I remember is laughter. Lots of laughter. Like the whole cafeteria. I heard someone behind me.

"Oops. My bad." 

Sydney. She "accidentally" spilled her milk over my head. The whole carton. I got up and ran. No way I'd ever live this down. I intended to run to the bathroom, but my legs wouldn't stop. They couldn't. It was only the middle of the first semester and I had a feeling I was gonna be doing a lot of running away this year. That was the first, but definitely not the last, time I skipped school.

-

 

What is it about popular kids that makes them so evil? How do they find enjoyment in making people sad? I don't get it. Must be a power thing. Nobody's going to stop you. Not even if they wanted to. They'd be too scared. You can't really blame them though. I tried the whole "Hero" thing and that lasted for all of about 6 seconds. During hall change I noticed there was a boy on the floor. I guess he'd been tripped. His books were all over the hall and his glasses had gotten knocked off. A crowd was forming around him, watching and laughing. There was someone standing over him. The crowd shifted and I recognized them. A girl from the soccer team. One of Alex's girls. Her name was Megan. She was just as bad as the other two but it seemed like she did it more for them. Like she was just doing what was expected of her. I guess even the popular kids have the same drive to be accepted. She looked over to where the boys glasses landed. 

"Man you gotta be careful where you put those." She said, while slowly walking towards them.

"Otherwise something," Step.

"Might." Step

"Happen." Another step.

"To them." One more step. She looked at the boy, keeping eye contact, then stepped on them. 

"You can't do that!"  For someone who's kinda smart, I don't understand how I can be so stupid.

"Excuse me?" Megan turned around, eyeing the crowd.

"You can't do that. You can't just treat people like that. It's not right." What the hell is wrong with me?

"Oh yeah? And who's gonna stop me? You?" She closed the space between us and I moved back. 

"Well? You gonna stop me?" 

I didn't answer. I couldn't. My mouth suddenly stopped working. My brain shut down. 

"I thought so. Watch yourself." She shouldered past me, knocking me into the lockers. 

The crowd moved along and the boy on the ground gathered his things. From that point on I swore to keep my mouth shut. You should never mess with the order. The balance. You can only tip the scale so much before you spill something. After 3 weeks of being totally paranoid about Megan coming after me, I decided to let it go. We just got new schedules for the second semester and I was happy I could stop skipping lunch to avoid Syd. I saw a flyer up in the hallway. It was for soccer try-outs. I liked soccer. The soccer team? Not so much. But I kinda missed it. Since Alex and friends played for Varsity, I figured I'd try out for JV. I wouldn't have to see them much and I would be happy again. What's the worst that could happen?

 

-

Turns out the worst thing that could happen is the JV coach thinking I'm too good for JV and sending me to Varsity. Today was my first practice with Varsity. I felt like I was gonna throw up. There were options of course. I could beg for a spot on JV which wasn't gonna happen, according to the coaches. Second option...I could just quit. But thanks to the brilliant genes from my father, Tobin Heath was no quitter. No matter what. I walked to practice that morning giving myself some time to think. Worst case scenario? I totally bomb this practice and Alex and her crew completely trash me. Best case? I show up and totally smash this thing and get a spot on top. Positive outlook, Tobin. Positive. Even though I walked as slow as I could, I still got to the field pretty quick. The coach met me on the sidelines and then guided me to the middle of the field. The team wasn't complete yet. Coach was still looking for a few more players. But I saw everyone I expected to see. Alex of course. And where there's Alex, there's Syd and Megan. Like fire and smoke. You got this. You got this.

"Alright team. Midfield. Hustle!" The coach blew his whistle. 

"This is Tobin. She's going to be on the team starting today."

"Um, don't you have to try out before you make a team?" One of the girls asked.

"Don't you have to be good?" Alex asked. A few girls snickered.

"Laps. Go. Alex, Sydney and Amy."

"But coach-" 

"Get!" He blew his whistle again.

"Anyone else?" The coach stared directly at Megan.

"No sir, coach." Megan said.

"Good. Then lets start drills. Tobin, go with Becky."

I could feel Alex watching the back of my head while I worked. After practice I felt a lot better. I didn't suck too bad and some of the girls on the team were really nice to me. On my way into the locker room I heard Alex and Syd talking with Megan. Something made me stop and listen.

"Guys I was after school yesterday and I saw her at practice. She's really good. We sorta need her." Was Meagan...defending me?

"Look I don't care what we need. It won't be her." Alex said.

"Are you in or not?" Syd asked.

"What do you have against her anyway? What did she ever do to you?" Megan got louder.

"If I were you I'd be careful." Alex warned.

"Yeah. Megan I really like you and I think you're really cool. I'd hate to see you go back to being on the bottom." 

"Syd," Megan sounded hurt.

"Just do it. Come on." Syd tried.

For a while nobody said anything. I guess Megan was thinking about it. Whatever 'it' was.

"Fine. Whatever." Megan answered finally.

I ran to take a quick shower. Whatever they were planning to do to me, I wouldn't be around for it. As I was pulling a clean shirt over my head, I heard someone come up behind me. I yanked my shirt down and spun around to face Megan.

"Woah man relax." She said, as she leaned up against my locker. "You can talk to me you know."

"Yeah I know."

"Well I saw you at practice the other day. Coach was right. You're too good for JV. You'll be fine here dude. Fit right in and all that."

"Really?" Despite everything, this made me kinda happy.

"For sure."

"Thanks." 

There was a lag in the conversation, as the rest of the team came in from the showers.

"Hey Tobin could you do me a favor?"

"Um..."

"Come on. I just need the First Aid Kit off the top shelf. I cut my knee during practice." 

She looked at me and I looked at her. Then Alex and Syd came in. I raised my eyebrows at Megan. My look told her I knew. She looked down at her hands then back up at me. Her eyes were sad and her look told me she was sorry. 

"Sure thing dude." I turned around and walked to the opposite side of the room. I stood on my tip toes and reached for the First Aid kit at the back of the top shelf. Just do it already. Just get it over with. I was thinking to myself. Then it was. Over, I mean. My shorts were down around my ankles and I was totally exposed. Standing there in my lucky Superman boxer-briefs. This morning I figured I would need the extra help. So I picked my lucky underwear. Never before have I ever felt so unlucky.  A room full of girls saw me in my underwear. My boy underwear. With a Superman symbol on them. Nobody said anything. I think they were all shocked. My ears were red and my face was hot. I pulled up my shorts and grabbed my bag. I never heard anything Alex or Syd or even Megan said. All I could hear was the blood in my head. I guess the plan was to embarrass me into not coming back to the team. Needless to say, that was the last day I ever saw the inside of that locker room.

-

 

Crazy, right? Nope. That's just high school. And if you ask me it's over rated. A nice welcome into the real world I guess.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SUMMER PART 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's important to mention that the previous chapter was Freshman year of high school. This chapter is how the individuals spend the summer following. Thank you guys so much for reading this and wanting an update! I have no excuse for why this took so long and I give you permission to fight me for the delay. I apologize for any mistakes. 
> 
> *THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE A TIME JUMP TO THE END OF SUMMER*
> 
> Not gonna lie, this chapter starts off a bit slow lol but hang in there it gets good further down maybe

*TOBIN*

After Freshman year I decided that I needed a break. I needed somewhere for me. Somewhere to relax. So I spent the first week of summer wandering around my neighborhood. Climbing trees and jumping fences. Looking for my 'somewhere'. One day I got turned around and couldn't find the main road.  My watch said it was only 3 o'clock. And I didn't have to be home until 7:30. The way I saw it, I had time to be lost. My dad always says 'When you're exploring, you can never truly be lost.'. So I took this as an opportunity. After the first 15 minutes of walking nowhere, I found a lake. There were no tire swings or peers. Not even a stray duck.I took my journal out of my backpack and opened it to a clean page. I clicked my pen and looked around for something significant. I went down to the edge of the water and looked at the stones. They were all the same shade of gray. Boring. I picked up one and skipped it across the lake. When I bent down to pick up another rock something caught my eye. Something pink on the edge of the lake. Naturally my curiosity got the best of me and I went to see what it was. Obviously there was something weird about this rock. As I studied it I realized why. It was shaped like a peach (Upon later inspection by my dear younger brother, I was informed it was shaped more like a butt. Thank you sweet Jeffrey.) I clicked my pen and dated my page. At the top I wrote 'Peach Rock Lake'. I list the surroundings 'Lots of nothing, zero ducks, cool rocks, tall trees'. I reach into the front pocket of my backpack and pull out my compass. It was one of those longitude and latitude compass that my dad got me for my 10th birthday. After writing the coordinates down I put my stuff back into my bag and put the rock in my pocket. A couple of picture with my phone and then I checked the time again. Only a little after 3:30. On to the next one. As much as I love my dad and his philosophy on not being lost, after walking in circles for an hour I had to admit I didn't know where I was. Just as I took my phone out to call my mom, a bird flew over my head. I paused half way through typing my mothers number and looked at the bird in the tree behind me. The bird flapped its wings for a bit and then took off. I followed it with my eyes and saw something through the trees. Have I mentioned my natural curiosity? Dodging branches I ran toward whatever was beyond the trees. Suddenly I was in a park. An old abandoned park. There was a broken swing set and some discolored slides. Rusted monkey bars and a merry-go-round. There was also a tree but not like the other trees. This was a big 'Been here for 40 years' type of tree. At the top there was a tree house. The tree itself seemed fine but the house had really bad weather damage. The boards broken and rotted. Everywhere I looked, things were broken and falling apart. Everything except this tree. A rope was dangling out the door on the bottom of the tree house. I pulled on it a few times and thought 'why not'. Slowly I made my way up the rope and when I was close enough I grabbed the frame of the door and pulled myself up. The inside of this thing was just as bad as the outside. Leaves pilled under the windows along with broken branches and twigs. I looked out the window, down at the park, and I felt it. Something in my chest. The old boards groaned as I sat down. I took out my journal and my compass. While I was writing down the coordinates and the date, a strong wind blew through one of the windows. It knocked my hat off and carried it out the window opposite me. I hurried and stuck my head out to see floating gracefully towards somebody's backyard.

'No, no no' I said, to myself. The wind carried my hat softly towards the fence and dropped it. On the wrong side.

'Dang it'. I slap my forehead.

I quickly packed my stuff and dropped down the rope. I jogged over to the fence.

'Maybe I could just-'. As I leaned over the fence, a dog came running towards me barking (which caused me to fall off the fence).

'Okay maybe not'.

I followed the fence around the house to the front. There was a moving truck parked in the driveway. I walked onto the porch and rang the bell. While I was waiting I noticed an envelope by my foot. I picked it up and read the name on the front.

'What a weird name' I think to myself.

The door flings open breaking my thought. The girl standing in the door had curly hair.

"Hello stranger." She smiles at me and takes the mail from my hands.

"Uh hi."

"What can I do for you?"

"My hat. It kinda blew into your backyard. Sorry." 

"You don't have to apologize." She laughs. "Come on." She steps aside to let me in and closed the door behind me. I followed her through the house to the back door. It was open and there was a girl sitting on the steps playing fetch with the dog. This girl had straight blonde hair. She turned around when she heard us come up behind her.

"Dude you cant just let strangers in the house. You're gonna get us in trouble." The blonde girl said.

"Relax. Mom and dad wont be home for a while. Besides, this is what King was barking at. Her hat flew over the fence." The girl with the curly hair explained. "What's your name?" She turned to me.

"Tobin."

"I'm Lauren and this is my sister Amy. We moved here four days ago. See? Now there isn't a stranger in the house." Lauren stepped past Amy and off the porch towards my hat.

"Wait. Sisters?" I asked.

"Step sisters." Amy smiled up at me.

"Here you go." Lauren handed my hat to me.

"Thanks."

"What's up with the book bag? I thought school was out around here." Amy asked.

"Oh yeah it is. I was just uh, working on some stuff." I gripped the straps of my bag.

"Do you live around here?" Lauren asked, as she sat on the steps beside her sister.

"I'm not sure actually. I mean I think so but i'm kinda lost." I put my hat on and sit criss-cross facing the steps.

"Lost?" Amy asks.

"Well yeah. I" left my house and got turned around. Back that way." I pointed out over the trees. "I live in Rockfish."

"You're not as lost as you think." Lauren laughs.

"Huh?"

"This is still Rockfish." Amy replies.

"No way. Really?" I ask, amazed.

"Yeah. Big community huh? We drove around for about an hour before actually finding our house." Lauren says.

"Man no kidding. I've lived here for a while and I've never been out this way." I look at the houses around me.

"What street do you live on?" Amy asks, as she throws the ball King had dropped at her feet.

"Sunset."

"Boulevard?" Lauren turned to me.

"Yeah, you know it?"

"It's like a 20 minute drive right?" Lauren looked to Amy.

"Yeah. We passed it on the way in."

Lauren's phone began to ring and she answered it.

"Its probably our parents." Amy said to me. 

"Mom and dad want help bringing the groceries in." Lauren stands from the deck and holds her hand down to me. I look up at her and she smiles. Suddenly there was a pull in my chest. I reached up and took her hand. We went out front and a car pulled into the drive way. A woman got out and went to the trunk. I quickly recognized the woman as Lauren's mom. I dropped my bag by the front door and followed Lauren and Amy to the car.

"Hi mom." They both said.

"Hey girls. Any exploring today? You know when I was your age your grandmother couldn't keep me in the house." She says with her head in the trunk.

"We know, mom." They reply. Lauren looks at me and rolls her eyes. I smile.

"Oh I didn't know we had company." Amy's dad said, as he came around the car. Finally his wife takes her head out of the trunk.

"Oh. You'll have to forgive me, I didn't see you there." She says.

"This is Tobin. Her hat blew into the backyard." Lauren pulls the brim of my hat down over my eyes.

"I mean we're practically best friends now." Amy put her arm around my shoulder.

"Do you need help?" I ask.

"Honey you don't have to." She said at the same time Amy said "Totally." Lauren was already handing me bags.

"I don't mind miss." I tell her.

"Could you just put them into the kitchen? Thank you so much darling." 

I follow Lauren into the kitchen. "Um what am I supposed to call your mom?" I sat the bags on the counter.

"Well since shes not actually married to Amy's dad yet, I guess you can just call her Miss Cheney." 

After we got all the bags inside, Lauren said she wanted to show me something. She took me upstairs into a room. Her room. It was blue and she had a bunch of posters up. I walked over to her window and looked across the yard. I smiled to myself. 

"What are you looking at?" Lauren stood beside me.

"That." I pointed.

"The old park? My parents say not to go there. Its old and falling apart. Dad says its dangerous."

"The tree house."

"That too."

"Nah. I don't think so."

"Whats so special about it?" She looks at me.

"I don't know yet." 

"Hey Tobin. It's getting late and my mom wants to know if you're staying for dinner." Amy says, from the doorway.

"No thanks. I gotta get home."

"My parents can take you." Lauren says, already heading down the stairs.

"It's cool I can walk." I follow behind her.

"You don't even know where you are." Amy reminds me.

"Mom, Tobin needs a ride to Sunset Boulevard." Lauren said, as her mom put something in the oven.

"Sunset? You came all the way from Sunset?" Miss Cheney wipes her hands on her apron.

"I can walk. It's no problem really." I tell her.

"Absolutely not. Let me get my keys." She takes the apron off and heads for the stairs. I got outside to retrieve my backpack.

"Don't be a stranger, Stranger." Amy flicks the brim of my hat. She says bye and goes back into the house.

Lauren picks up the pen that had fallen out my bag and used it to write her number on my arm.

"Text me when you get home. Or if you plan on getting lost around here again anytime soon." She smiles.

"I think I scheduled to be lost on the other side of the neighborhood, but I'll see what I can do for you." I smiled back at her. Her mom came out and Lauren said bye before going back in the house. After making sure I had my seat belt on, Miss Cheney pulled out.

"It's gonna be right here on your left." I say about 15 minutes later.

"Your folks home?" Miss Cheney asks, as she parks in the driveway.

"Yes ma'am."

She walks me to the door and before I can knock, the door flung open.

"Tobin where have you been? Are you crazy!?" My mom grabs me by the shoulder and shakes me.

"Mom this is Miss Cheney." I say.

"Hi, I'm Rita."

"Cindy. Tobin go wash. Dinner is on the table."

"Bye Miss C." I wave.

"Bye Tobin. You're welcome to come back anytime."

"Thank you." I smile. I head upstairs as mom talked with Miss C. I sit down at my computer desk and take out my journal. I flip to my unfinished page.

"Tobin. Come down and eat buddy." My dad yells, from the bottom of the stairs.

"Alright dad." I reply.

I take my pen out of my pocket and finish my recent page. 

DESCRIPTION: old. quite. broken.

Titled simply 'SOMEWHERE'

 

*CHRISTEN*

Summer is supposed to be fun. You're supposed to spend it with your friends. Getting ready for the next year. Summer is not for packing your life into boxes and driving cross country. I guess my parents never got that memo. Even worse they wouldn't even tell me where we were going. 

"Come on Chris! This is gonna be great!" My dad said, for the millionth time. "I just know you're gonna love it." He continued. We'd been driving for almost 2 hours.

"Honey I know this is hard for you, but it;s not gonna change. You might as well accept it." My mom said, from the passengers seat. She turned around to look at me.

"I just don't get why we had to move." I say, looking out the window.

"We talked about this already." She sighed.

"Yeah and I still don't understand how you can just pack up and leave our house like that." 

"Chris. It's just a house. You're overreacting."

"What?" I couldn't believe she just said that. "Are you serious? We've lived in that house my whole life. I grew up in that house! That was my home. And what about my friends? My school?"

"Christen." My dad warned.

"Chris look. This move is gonna be good for you I promise. We have a better home now. You can always make new friends and your new school has a great soccer program. Sweetheart, you're gonna be fine." She put her hand on my knee and I went back to staring out the window. My eyes started to water. Wherever we were going would just be a house. Never a home. Not to me.

 

*KELLEY*

 I woke up and looked at my clock. No more alarms. Not for the next month. Smiling into my pillow, I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. Suddenly my phone buzzed from somewhere. After tossing my blanket to the floor and flipping my pillows, I finally found it between my mattress and the wall. I had one message and 4 missed calls from my coach.

'Meet me on the practice field @ 8:00'

It was already 8:45 and I still needed to change. My foot got caught in my blanket and I fell getting out of bed. When I got to the field it was 9:15. 

"Coach I'm really sorry. I didn't know we had practice today." I stood beside him and tried to catch my breathe.

"You don't." He replied, never taking his eyes off the field.

"Oh."

"This is JV practice time and since you are no longer part of this squad you're not required to be here."

Oh.

"Wait, what? Coach I'm up for an athletic scholarship. A full ride to wherever I wanna go. You cant do this." I need this. I couldn't get into college on an academic scholarship. I'm smart but not that smart. Which meant that this was my only ticket out of this bunk town and away from my parents. 

"Mr. Roberts, please. Please don't so this. I-"

He cut me off by holding up his finger. He blew his whistle for drill change and then finally looked at me.

"You wont be on this team anymore." He handed me a folded up piece of paper.

"What's this?" I think I actually heard my heart crack. I was on the verge of tears.

"Eating habits and exercise routines."

"Huh?"

"Come on kid. You know how this works. Things you should and shouldn't eat. What exercises to do and for how long. Next week you start training with varsity." Coach smiled down at me.

"Holy crap. Holy crap, no way!"

"Congratulations kid."

"Thank you. Thank you so much." I think I might actually be crying now.

"Alright get out of here. I've got work to do. Go on." He blew his whistle and walked out to midfield. He was yelling at someone for something but I didn't care. I never even heard the end of his sentence. I ran full speed all the way back to my house. When I got there my parents were in the kitchen fighting about something. Typical.

"What do you want from me, Karen? Honestly. Just tell me and I will gladly do that."

"I am so sick of you, Dan. You know that? I have half a mind to take my daughter and leave."

"You wouldn't."

"Try me."

"What's going on?" I stepped into the kitchen. 

"Kelley. I didn't hear you come in. Or leave this morning. Where've you been, sport?" My dad asked.

There was a small voice in the back of my head telling me to run. My palms itched and my legs burned but I had nowhere to go. Nobody to run to.

"What's wrong, Sweetheart? You look-"

"I think I'm gonna be sick." I cut my mom off and ran up the stairs, closing and locking my door behind me. This cant be happening. I just got the best news of my life. 2 minutes ago I was on top of the world. Where did that feeling go? And why was it so hard to come by?

 

*MEGAN*

On the last day of school, I had a 'falling out' with my "friends". I bent over backwards for them but they were never satisfied. I spent all yeah being a puppet for Alex. It wasn't friendships, it was work. Well on the last day of school, Alex definitely crossed the line.

"Come on Syd. It'll be hilarious." I heard Alex say, as I made my way over to them.

"I don't know, Alex. This seems pretty harsh. Even for you." Syd was obviously against whatever the plan was.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Nothing. Harmless prank." Alex replied, nonchalantly.

But I knew better. There was nothing harmless about Alex.

"Walk." Alex commanded, while stepping around me.

Syd and I followed behind Alex until we came to a crown in the middle of the hall. Alex shouldered through to the front. When we got to the front, there was a kid standing there. People were gawking and taking pictures. Pointing and laughing. The kid looked to Alex and I saw something in his eyes. Anger. 

"You did this. I know it was you!" He yelled.

"What's he talking about?" I whispered to Syd, who looked like she was about have a breakdown.

"You bitch! Everybody knows now!" He had crossed the short distance and was now in Alex' face.

"Sam, I think everybody already knew, buddy." She pat him on his shoulder. The crowd erupted with laughter.

"Don't touch me." He said. Sam looked past Alex, and I swear, he looked me dead in my eyes.

"I hope you're happy now." He said, under his breathe. "I hope you're all happy now!" He repeated louder, towards the crowd.

Sam walked back to his locker and slammed it. He picked his backpack up then stormed off through the crowd. I stood, staring in shock. Someone had defaced Sam's locker. Written across it, in beg red letters. Fag. Around it people wrote things in pen and sharpie. Things like 'Sam likes dick' and 'I always knew it.' Alex was laughing and high-fiving bystanders. Something inside me snapped.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I asked. The crowd started to disperse. Buses to catch and summer plans to make.

"Excuse me?" Alex glared.

"Alex, this is a whole new level of low."

"Megan don't." I heard Syd from somewhere around me, but my vision was clouded with hate. All I saw was Alex.

"I'd be real careful about what you say." Alex lowered her voice, and stepped towards me.

"Fuck you, Alex." I turned and went after Sam. When I got around the corner, someone grabbed my wrist.

"Wait."

"Don't touch me." I yanked my arm away.

"You have to apologize. Alex-"

"Are you serious, Syd? You want me to apologize to her? For what?"

Silence.

"I cant believe you let her do that." I could feel my eyes watering and my throat closing up. "You knew. You knew how I would feel about this and you knew it would drive me away."

"This wasn't personal, Megs."

"Wasn't it?" I asked. "I mean, I'll probably be next right? She wanted to prove to me that she had no boundaries. Alex could ruin my life and sleep like a baby. She wanted me to know that nobody crosses Alex Morgan." I felt tears on my face and I hated it.

"I would never out you." Syd said, quietly.

"Maybe not. But Alex would. Just to prove a point to the next puppet that comes along. Do you realize that Sam's life is potentially ruined? Alex went to far this time and you know it."

"So what am I supposed to do? Huh?"

"Gee, I don't know. The right thing maybe?" I replied, in my most 'duh' voice.

"Why? So I can end up like Sam? Like you?"

"Do you hear yourself? Is being Alex' doll that important? I don't have time for this. I gotta find Sam." I was wasting time. Someone else might get to him first. Someone bigger.

"I never told her, you know. I promised to keep your secret and I will."

"Promises are for friends. As far as I'm concerned, you can do whatever you want with that secret. I don't care." I could tell by the look on her face, that she got the message. Loud and clear. The trust was broken. I spent 15 minutes looking for Sam. I finally gave up and went behind the school to get my bike. From the bike rack, I saw something in the bus parking lot. I made my way over, slowly.

"Holy shit." I breathed.

"Do your worst. It's not gonna get better." Sam was on his back, looking up at the sky. I was too late.

"I'm so sorry, man."

"What?" He wiped his bloody nose with the back of his hand.

"You don't deserve this. I'm so sorry." I took a deep breath and laid down beside him.

"I don't understand." Sam turned his head to look at my profile.

"I'm not a good person Sam." I looked him in the eye.

"That doesn't necessarily make you bad person either though. I see you. When Alex isn't around. I think maybe you're just misguided. Trying to fit in. And I wont blame you for that."

"I told her off." I said, breaking the silence that had settled around us.

"You what?" He laughed.

"I think my exact words were 'Fuck you, Alex'." I smiled at him.

"But why?" Sam seemed genuinely confused. 

"It's not worth it man. It's just not. The whole year I've been watching Alex hurt people. Ruin their lives. And I never stepped in or tried to stop her. And for what? To be cool? Popular? That's not what my parents would want from me. I wasn't raised that way. If my nana knew how I acted around here, she would have a heart attack. I'm not telling you this in hopes that you'll forgive me. I suspect that'll take some time. I just want you to know that from now on i'm gonna look out for you. And the people like you. Like us." I knew these words were true before they even left my mouth. And from the look an Sam's face, I think maybe he knew it too.

"Like us?" Sam said, softly.

"Like us. Things are gonna be a lot different around here next year, buddy. But I have a feeling, me and you, we're gonna be just fine." I stood up and extended my hand down to him. 

"Yeah. I think you're right." Sam smiled at me and pulled himself up.

"You want a ride?"

"On your bike?" Sam laughs.

"BMX bike, baby. Brand new."

"Why the hell not." Sam put his hands on my shoulder as he stood on my back pegs.

While we were speeding down a hill, Sam said something I couldn't hear.

"Huh?" I yell.

"I said do you know what I think about popularity?" He repeated, louder.

"What?"

"I think its overrated!" He screamed in my ear. The bike peddled itself down the hill, picking up speed. I couldn't help but smile.

"Overrated!" I screamed.

"Overrated!" Sam took one of his hands off my shoulder and thrust it in the air. He threw his head back and laughed. I finally had my first real friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU FOR READING THIS. YOU ALL MAKE ME SO HAPPY IM SORRY IF THIS WASNT WORTH THE WAIT IM NOT A GREAT WRITER. BUT I DO HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SUMMER PART 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter for a while guys i just started school and you know i gotta prioritize lol  
> But this is just the last few weeks before the gals start sophomore year.  
> You goons have been asking for an update and its been so long since i started this story.  
> I felt bad so tonight i give you....2 chapters! Yay!  
> Enjoy, goons.

*TOBIN*

This is it. My last week of summer. I was in the Cheney's backyard with Lauren, laying in the grass. Over the last 2 months Lauren and Amy had become great friends of mine. They made me happy, which was hard to come by. Amy was out with her parents, so it was just me and Lauren.

"What's wrong?" Lauren asked.

"I don't know man." I reply.

"Yes you do. What's up buddy?" Lauren flips onto her stomach. Honestly I was just freaking out about sophomore year. It was right around the corner and i was already nostalgic about my summer.

"Lauren, I'm scared." I whispered.

"Of what?"

"What if nothing's changed?" I sat up. "What if this year is just like last year? What if-"

"Tobin, stop. You're upsetting yourself. When school starts, Alex is gonna busy tormenting freshman. I bet she's already forgotten your name."

"But what if-"

"So what? People like Alex, they never change. Which means you're always gonna have those 'What if's'. But you know what else wont change? Us. Tobin, so far you're the greatest friend i've made. But you're also the only one, so that's debatable."

"Shut up." I laughed.

"Listen. Somethings never change, but look at all the things that have. I can promise you that this year wont be like last year. Because this year you have me. And I wont let Alex or anyone else take that." Lauren assured me. "It's nothing to cry about." She added as an after thought.

"I'm not crying." I say, as I wipe my face with my shirt. The front door opened and Miss C. called for us to come eat lunch.

"Promise?" I ask, quietly.

"What's that?" Lauren asked, as she brushed the grass off her shirt.

"Do you promise? That we wont change?" I thought about freshman year and how much I just wanted a friend.

"Tobin, I'm not going anywhere. I promise." Lauren hugged me.

"Did I miss something?" Amy asked, from the porch. Lauren looked at me and raised her eyebrows.

"Nah. Nothing important." I walk past her and into the house. 

"Okay. Weirdos."

I had a couple days left before school and I wasn't gonna spend them obsessing over 'What if's'. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

 

*KELLEY*

I sat in my bedroom looking at the ceiling. Summer was gonna be over soon and believe me, I couldn't be happier. I was tired of being in the house 24/7. Listening to my parents fight. I was over it by the second week of summer. I tried to keep myself busy outside the house but there was never enough to do. And I had to come home eventually. Practice was never long enough. And I never wanted to be there. Alex made me nervous. Suddenly a text came through to my phone. It was the coach Grant reminding the team to do our summer reading project.  Summer reading project?

"Shit." I quickly ran through the names in my phone. A bunch of slacks. No way they'd have it done and no way they'd help me with mine. 

PING. Another message.

'Nobody is exempt from the SRP except for latecomer Christen Press.' Followed by a bunch of 'boo's' and 'you suck's'.

Christen Press? Yeah. She was the new girl on the team. She seemed like the kind of person to do summer reading projects. A real brainiac. Bingo.

 

*CHRISTEN*

I couldn't believe it. My whole summer was gone. Wasted. When we got here, I went to an open practice for JV. I made the team and we've gad practice everyday since. Despite having a team full of people, I'd made no friends. Now school was about to start and I was on my own. My phone began to rang as I was cleaning my room.

"Hello?" 

"Hey! Christen, It's Kelley. Look I hate to ask but I kinda sorta need help."

"Okay. With?"

"My summer reading project?"

"Well what book did you read?"

"Well. I didn't."

"What? Then how am I supposed to help you? You cant write a report on a book you haven't read."

"What if I bring the book to your house? I'm not really the reading type but maybe you can help me. Ya know, to comprehend and whatever."

"Kelley, it would take all night to read a book and write a report." 

"Okay. I'll stay over. My parents don't care."

"What about MY parents?" 

"I've met your parents, Chris. They won't care either. Please? I can't start the semester with a bad grade already. Coach G. would knock me off the roster."

This whole conversation should have felt weird to me. I mean, this girl has never spoken to me and yet here she is asking for my help over the phone. Even weirder, the conversation felt normal. Like I'd known her since we were kids or something. I made a mental list. My list turned up all pro's. I couldn't find one reason to tell her no. Plus I like her. I mean as a person. At practice she just seems so cool. I wanted to talk to her but I was to nervous. This was luck presenting itself as an opportunity. Why would I say no?

"Hello? Press?"

"Fine."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Why not."

"Yes! Awesome. Okay I'll run to the library and get a book. Just text me your address and I'll see you in a bit."

"Okay."

"Wait. Um, thanks."

"You're welcome, Kelley."

After we hung up, I had this weird feeling. Like I was nervous. But I'm not sure why.

 

*MEGAN*

"Megan."

Sam had went to spend the summer with his dad in Washington. He left the third week of summer and has been texting me ever since.

"Megan."

"Sorry, what?" I looked up from my phone.

"I said its nice outside." My mother repeated.

"Okay?" I replied, with an undertone of 'so?'. She looked at me until I processed what she wanted.

"Oh! You want me to go outside?" 

"Yes. You've been in the house all summer just typing away on that phone. You need fresh air. Get." She kissed the top of my head and told me to leave my phone. I decided to take a walk. A few houses down, A ball flew by me narrowly missing my head.

"Dude, I'm so sorry!" Are you ok?" A girl came running up to me.

"Yeah. No harm done." I picked up the basketball and handed it to her.

"You look familiar." She said. 

"I live in the blue one." I point down the street to my house.

"Wanna play?"

"I don't know the first thing about basketball." I say.

"What's there to know? You either can or you cant. And I have a feeling you can." She hands me the ball and I follow her into her yard.

"Come one. Show me something." She said. Was this girl serious? Well, we actually ended up playing until the street lights came on. And it was the most fun I'd had all summer. At about 9:15 her mom told her to come inside.

"Hey, you're pretty good." 

"Thanks." I reply, out of breath.

"With a little bit of practice, you might even be able to beat me." She tossed the ball at me.

"What! I totally beat you!" I laughed and threw the ball back at her.

"I don't think so. Come back tomorrow and maybe i'll let you redeem yourself." She said through her own laughter.

"Whatever. See you around dude." I waved.

"See ya." She was almost to the front door when something occurred to me.

"Wait! Whats your name?" 

"Ashlyn." She waved and closed the door behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good? Bad? Lemme know! Though i do hope you enjoyed!

**Author's Note:**

> I'll add another chapter tomorrow if not later tonight.


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